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27 April, 2011

Autodidact

I've been looking at images of handspinners in Medieval Europe and the ancient Near East, and I cannot figure out how they manage to spin the spindle down and to the side. I suspect the distaffs stuck in their waistbands have something to do with it.

I wonder if a distaff would help me draw a larger amount of fibre at a time. My short draw is extremely short. A different hand movement could turn out to be more comfortable over long or frequent handspinning sessions.

2 comments:

I experimented with a distaff (ok, a wooden flagpole that I tied the fiber onto) and a reproduction Medieval spindle. The spindle doesn't keep spinning very long, so the hand nearest to it keeps twirling it every few seconds. The hand by the distaff draws the fibers out. I did stick the distaff in my belt, or under my arm, since I wanted to be able to walk around with it. After I got the hang of it, I realized that my hands were in the same position that the period illuminations show. Using their tools makes the difference.

I don't know if you can get to it, but my current Facebook profile picture has me spinning with the distaff and spindle. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=652361003 (Melissa Wold McCollum)

I am a handspinner, twisting fibre into yarn with a hand-powered drop spindle. This blog records what I learn and do. You may be here looking for a story, a solution, or information. I like to spin yarn, finish objects, listen to experienced makers, and research methods. I want handmade clothes out of local fibre in natural colours. I want more linen cloth in my life and more språng (an ancient braiding technique). I like to spin yarn in public, talk about handmade textiles to anyone who will listen, and help new spindle spinners. I am active in my local handspinners guild. I see handspinning as a worthwhile and relevant skill. I am a homesick Canadian, and I live in Virginia.

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By mentioning or describing any product, producer, vendor, manufacturer, fibre artist, external link, content provider, technique, book, or the like, I make no endorsement, recommendation, or guarantee. Their views and mine may disagree. I disclose it when I accept an unsolicited gift from a business. Links to external websites work at the time of posting but may become broken over time.

I post when I have something to say about handspun yarn and the fibre arts. I'm trying to remember to post something on Saturdays; posts go up at seven o'clock in the morning usually, sometimes at seven in the evening